To think it’s a bit unreasonable that children have to have fruit for school snack.

Maybe you need to give her a more substantial breakfast with food that will keep her feeling full for longer. A child should really be able to go from breakfast time to lunchtime without having to snack in between. A piece of fruit should be ample.

This. School age children dont need snacks that's a toddler weaning thing.
If you saw how much of school lunches go to waste because children pick at them having filled up on milk and fruit at 10, you'd understand.

This whole idea of kids needing constant snacks is a new thing, kids weren't ever given morning and afternoon snacks when i was kid, it was thought it would spoil their appetite for dinner (here's a clue, it does, they fill up on snacky stuff they like rather than the more nutritionally complete foods served at bigger meals).

Malt loaf is incredibly sugary it's pretty much like giving them a cake mid morning theres no need for that AND fruit!

I was at school in the 70s and we had a free bottle of milk, plus any snack we brought in that wasn't sweets. Most DC as I recall had an apple or a bag of crisps.

This, malt loaf isn't actually that filling. Boiled egg (you can get some pre-packaged) or a small amount of cooked chicken/ham would be a better filling snack.

It's a shame the restrictions not extended to dried fruit and nuts as they would fill kids up, but understandably nuts are a no no (which I fully support having a nut allergy sufferers in the family). Dried fruit should be ok though, even though it's very sugary

Is this for real? If so, it’s absolutely bonkers!

My kids need more substantial snacks, one is anorexic with hypoglycemia so needs more, my other refuses to eat at school anyway but I try and encourage him by stuffing his lunch box with lots of little snacks he likes, even if it's unhealthy (he still doesn't eat it 90% of the time and is skinny as a rake, not anorexic he just has other issues with eating)

Yes but a banana and a small apple / mandarin costs me under 40p a day less if it’s on special offer. I only buy berries on reduced out of season. It’s 55p for 5 bananas and 69p for six apples in Aldi this week.

I do feel for people who don’t have easy access to cheaper shops though. When dc was in school nursery we used to pay a snack fee for fruit/ milk and crackers/ oatcakes which covered costs.

It seems a bit ott but that's the schools rules. When I worked in primaries some children brought sharing size bags of crisps, chocolate etc so while many parents promote healthy habits some were also at the other extreme

Congratulations?

I think it's generally fine to bring fruit or veg (carrot, cucumber, peppers most commonly) but the majority of children bring fruit. The point is it's a healthy snack and not crisps, biscuits, chocolate etc.

We never had snacks, nor did my DD, DS, or more recently, DGD. None of us starved. I will say, I wish I had eaten breakfast more often because I do think it affected me not doing so. I always made sure DD, DS and DGD ate breakfast and had a good lunch.

Totally normal rule, although my child’s school will also allow vegetables so my DC often takes carrot sticks. It’s because they get free fruit at break in KS1 so this is deemed a continuation of it. They’re trying to reduce packaging, mess and arguments about whether malt loaf is actually healthy and what makes that different to little Joe’s “healthy” brownie made with avocado and then how that differs to little Tim’s jam doughnut.

I’d aim for a later or more filling breakfast or whatever snack it is you want to send given on the way to school.

Probably better to ban certain snacks than narrow down the options to one type of healthy one. No sweets, biscuits, crisps or chocolate is probably enough, with a fact sheet to help parents with alternative ideas. Healthy eating is about education and holistic change. Forcing children to eat fruit or nothing once a day isn't going to make any appreciable difference and seems more an easy way for the school to box tick.

To give some perspective, my 5 year old DD who goes to school in France has never had any morning snack. It’s just not done here. Children have breakfast, then lunch, a gouter around 4 pm and then dinner. School doesn’t finish til 4.45 here so she had her afternoon snack at school. I pick her up from school wraparound at 6 and she eats dinner at 7. This is pretty standard across the country.

So no morning snack isn’t the end of the world.

I come from a generation that never had snacks at school!

My son doesn't have SEN and wouldn't eat fruit until he was a teenager. Completely refused and just didn't have anything for a snack. I didn't really think about it tbh, he just either had to have the fruit or wait until lunch.
Primary school children have lunch just after 12, especially the lower years. I would give her a banana as they are the most filling.
When I was young we could buy crisps from the tuck shop, but I don't think that's something we need to return to.

We are only allowed a “healthy snack” once a week, on a Friday as a treat (a healthy snack that is on the approved list - veggies and hummus dip, a single small cube of cheese (babybels are not allowed) and carrot sticks, fruit or a granola bar but they have to be an approved brand because of the sugars) every other day my son has to take a piece of fruit or vegetables as prescribed by the school - a small apple on a Monday, a small banana Tuesday, they are allowed berries and grapes as a TREAT on a Wednesday and Thursdays they must have cucumber sticks. No exceptions.
It’s expensive, but if you send them in with the wrong fruit on the wrong day or with say an approved granola bar on a Thursday, they have their snack confiscated. If it doesn’t meet “standards” ie; the banana is too large, cheese cube too big, hummus too wet (I don’t know anymore) then their snack gets taken off them and they have to wait for lunch. This is the same across the board, until you reach the final 6 weeks of year 6, when you are allowed to add 1 go ahead bar and 1 yoghurt (must be a frubes type deal) into their weekly rotation. It’s shit.
And so far, all it’s taught my boys is that food is scary and gets you into trouble!

When I was at primary school in 90s we had crisps everyday, but I can’t get upset about them having fruit now. Can’t your child have a babybel or something else protein dense on the way to school?
my four year old is at school in France and the children don’t get snacks at all in their day 8:30-4:30 just a three course lunch. Most parents bring a snack (goûter) for straight from school though.

Children dont need to snack all the time. Just give her a more substantial breakfast and /or have it slightly later in the morning.

Fruit is plenty but mine never bothered taking fruit for break, they just waited till lunch

Apples and pears cheaper

Malt loaf is more or less pure sugar and not good for a snack.

Which biscuits?
Tbh they dont sell biscuits here cheaper than an apple or a banana.
But fair enough if you have that on hand.

Me too. I wouldn't say my mum gave me healthy snacks though.

I'd be ignoring that tbh.